New Tracks – 11/29

In case you haven’t noticed, Portland is stirring up quite the musical flurry of late.

Richmond Fontaine is currently touring Europe, record labels Fluff and Gravy and Mama Bird each just celebrated their five-year birthdays with a series of performances and releases, and The Decemberists, of course, continue to make their mark on the national scene.

But wait, there’s more: Two member of case/lang/veirs live in the Rose City, Blind Pilot is touring with Vance Joy in support of its third studio album and the re-surging Fruit Bats has re-settled there.

Their third studio album, Near to the Wild Heart of Life, is due Jan. 27, and they’ll kick off an extensive 41-date world tour to support it starting Friday in Mexico City.

-Chuck Prophet: First as a member of the 1980s’ American pscyh/desert rock group Green on Red and later as a collaborator and solo artist throughout the 1990s, Prophet is back with an album of 13 original works.